Shock-absorber for liquid-weighing machines.



W. LEINERT.

suocx ABSORBER FOR LIQUID WEIGHING MACHINES.

APFLlCATwN man [JULY l9, 1am Pavlltad NOV. 1917. H I N I V TH iii W iiNvENTbR ATTORNEYS WENZEL LEINERT, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

SHOCK-ABSORBER FOR LIQUID-WEIGHING MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 27, 1917.

Application filed July 19, 1916. Serial No. 110,089.

To all whom it mayconcern:

v Be it known that I, WENZEL LEINERT, a subject of the Czar of Russia, and a resident of New York, county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shock- Absorbers for Liquid-Veighing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to machines for weighing liquids, and particularly to shock absorbing devices for machines of this character, and the present invention is an improvement upon my earlier Patent No. 1,103,803, granted July 1 1, 1914:, for liquid weighing device.

Machines in accordance with the invention of my said patent are manufactured in various sizes with charge capacities fora single bucket running as high as 2000 pounds, and the same may be made of even greater capacity. Such machines operate by weighing and registering each charge, the buckets tilting on knife edges, whereupon the contents are discharged by suitable discharge means, and when the contents have been discharged the buckets are tipped backward on their knife edges, as by a counterweight, and this operation is repeated indefinitely.

In the said machines, according to my patent, some part of the excess energy developed in tipping down and tipping back again is utilized in operating a valve or valves, but, nevertheless, particularly in the case of the buckets of larger capacity, the impact of the bucket upon the stops provided for that purpose, both when tipping downward for discharging and when tipping back for refilling, is more violent than is desirable, and, in addition to the noise produced'thereby, tends to interfere to some degree at least with the accuracy of the apparatus, and in time an appreciable amount of wear may result.

In the attempt to avoid the objectionable features connected with the unchecked contact of the buckets or parts thereof with the stops, it has been suggested that the shock may be absorbed by means of dash pots and similar devices, but all of such as have been tried have been found not quite satisfactory, both because of their tendency to stick and not to operate readily, and because of difliculties encountered in obtaining the accurate contact of the supporting elements of the device with the stops provided for that purpose, which close contact is essential for ao curate operation.

I have provided a means for absorbing the excessive energy of the tipping buckets so as to prevent undue noise, wear and any tendency to inaccuracy in operation, and which operates entirely during the tipping of the bucket, being brought into play after the tipping has commenced and being out of play before the tipping in either direction is completed, so that there is no interference by my improved shock absorbing device with either the initial or the final position of the bucket before and after tipping.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof, and wherein the same reference numerals are uniformly applied to designate the same parts throughout, Figure 1 is a front view partly in section of one form of apparatus in which my invention may be embodied. Fig. 2 is a side view, partly broken away, of the device shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a sectional detail view on an enlarged scale.

10 indicates a casing which may be of any suitable form, and 11 and 12 are the tilting buckets of a pair mounted to turn on knife edges 13 and fed from inlet pipes 14 and 15 controlled by a Valve 16 which is operated through the arms 17, 17, of the tilting buckets l1 and 12. The valve shaft 18 preferably leads to a suitable registering device, such as a coinptometer as indicated at 19. The buckets are preferably provided with an adjustable counterweight, as 20, and the stop members 21 thereon limit the forward tipping movement thereof by contact with suitable stop surfaces, as 22, and the rear stop members thereon, as 23, contact with stops, as 24;, to limit the rearward tipping movement. The discharge from the buckets is by siphon tubes T into the chamber 25 and out by means of the outlet pipe 26.

All of the parts so far described are constructed substantially in accordance with my improved Patent No. 1,103,303, and form no part of the present invention, except as they are combined with the parts now to be described.

In proximity to the buckets, and preferably directly below the knife edges 13, I provide shock absorbing means adjacent to the buckets, and also provide the buckets themselves with cooperating members which work in connection with the parts separate from the bucket to absorb any undue energy due to the tipping action of the buckets in the operation of the device. In the form shown the shaft 27 is mounted across the frame 10 in suitable bearings, as 28, 28, and connected to said shaft are one or more resilient control members. In the form shown the shaft 27 is provided with a cross-head 29 rigidly secured thereto at one end, and to the ends of the cross-head 29 pull springs 30, 30 are secured, preferably so that they may be adjusted with respect thereto, as by bolts 31, 31 and nuts 32, 32, and the opposite ends of the springs 30 are secured to the frame 10 in any convenient manner, as by being passed through an angle bar 33 to which they may be ad ustably secured, as by bolts 34, 34 and nuts 35, 35. It will be seen that with the arrangement illustrated, the shaft 27 can be rotated for a short distance in either direction, such rotation, however, being opposed by the springs when the shaft is turned in either direction, and that when left free the shaft will naturally assume the position in which the cross-head 29 is substantially horizontal. Means are secured to the shaft 27 for cooperating with parts on the buckets for absorbing the shock, and in the form shown the shock absorbing elements on the shaft 27 consist of plates 36 adjustably secured to the shaft 27 in any desirable way. In the form shown they are received in slots 37 provided in collars 38 which may be attached to the shaft 27 as by set-screws 39, and the plates 36 have slots 40 through which the bolts 41 are passed, so that the plates 36 may be adjusted both radially with respect to the shaft 27 and also to any desired position in the length thereof.

The means provided on the buckets for contacting with the plates 36 have, in the construction shown, the form of angle-irons 42 so arranged as to swing during the tipping of the buckets to angular positions substantially the same distance on each side of the plates 36, as is shown in Fig. 2, in which view the plate 42 on the bucket 12 is to the left of the plates 36, and that on the bucket 11, to the right thereof. These plates 42 preferably form a slightly acute angle with their bases 43 so that the plates 42 extend substantially radially from the turning knife edges 13, as is clearly shown in Fig. 2.

The operation of the device will be clearly understood from the foregoing. As the bucket is tipped either to discharge the contents, or for refilling, it passes through substantially half its movement before the plate 42 contacts with the resilient retarding plates 36. Upon contact of the plate 42 with the plate 36, the latter is turned aside against the tension of one of the springs 30 and the turning of the bucket is retarded thereby until the plate 42 has passed over the plate 36, whereupon the springs 30 return the shaft 27 and plate 36 to normal position with the plate 36 substantially upright, and the tipping of the bucket continues until the proper stop piece comes in contact with its stop, which contact is with considerably less force and slamming effect than would have been produced had it not been for the retardation of the shock absorbing device, and this result is secured without there beingany contact between the members of the shock absorbing device when the buckets are in their final positions, either tipped for discharging or for refilling, so that there is no interference by th shock absorbing device with their taking up their proper positions at both ends of the tipping operation.

It will be seen that a shock absorbing device for this purpose, constructed in accord ance with my invention, is extremely simple and highly effective in operation, that it eliminates all of the hurtful effects due to the operation of such devices without proper shock absorbers, that it is readily adjustable so as to secure the proper amount of retardation, and that it cannot interfere in any way with the accurate operation of the device. When the springs have become weakened, as they may be by continued use, there may be more noise and shock produced than is desirable, and the springs may then be tightened somewhat, but if permitted to continue to operate when weakened, there is no interference with the proper operation of the device, beyond, of course, the greater amount of shock and noise than is desirable.

It will be obvious that my invention may be embodied in numerous forms, and it is to be understood that the particular device illustrated and described, is illustrated and described solely for the purpose of affording a clear understanding of my invention and the principle thereof, and that I am not to be limited thereto but that my invention is as broad as my claims.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim:

1. In a device of the class described, the combination of a liquid containing bucket mounted for tipping, a shaft adjacent to the bucket, resilient means for normally holding the shaft in a given position, a plate adjustablv fixed to said shaft, and means on the bucket for contacting with said plate.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination of a liquid containing bucket, knife edges on which said bucket is mounted for tipping, stops for positively limiting the tipping movement in each direction, a shaft adjacent to the bucket, spring means for holding the shaft in a given position, a member adjustably secured to said shaft, and means on the bucket for contacting with said member only when the tipping bucket is out of contact With its stops.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of a liquid containing bucket mounted for tipping on knife edges, positive stops for limiting the tipping movement of the bucket in each direction, a valve operated by the tipping of the bucket, and resilient means for easing the tipping movement of the bucket, said means coming into play after the tipping begins and out of play before the tipping movement is completed.

4:. In a device of the class described, the

combination of a liquid containing bucket, knife edges on which said bucket is mounted for tipping, positive stops for limiting the tipping movement in each direction, and means for absorbing the shock of said tipping movements, said means operating in both directions of the tipping of the bucket and being out of operative position When the bucket is in contact With its stops.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing, I hereto set my hand, this 18th day of J uly 1916.

WENZEL LEINERT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G. 

